A consumer group has said that many baby and child care products contain the chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, both of which have been linked to cancer and various skin conditions but the labels don’t list them. 

According to the report from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetic Use more than half the products of bubble bath, shampoo and other common products that were tested contain these chemicals but they aren’t listed on the products labels. The Environmental Protection Agency has said both of the chemicals are considered probable carcinogens.

Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetic Use and co-author of the report, released Thursday said, "Companies can obviously do better, and we need to demand that they do better. Many companies are already making great products that don't have any of these chemicals [and] many companies in the natural products industry have reformulated to get rid of that problem. We also know many companies are using preservatives that don't use formaldehyde."

The report, called No More Toxic Tub, is the first to document contamination of children's products with these chemicals. The Environmental Working Group was involved in the analyses with the CSC which tested 48 baby and child personal care products tested for 1,4-dioxane, and 28 of those products for formaldehyde.

Malkan said both formaldehyde and dioxane are considered "contaminants," and a contaminant "is a chemical that is not intentionally added to the product but is a byproduct," she said. "Those are all exempt from labeling laws ... Companies don't even have to know themselves.”

The researchers reported that 17 out of 28 or 61% of the products had both chemicals, 23 out of 28 products or 82 % contained formaldehyde, and 32 of 48 products or 67% contained 1,4-dioxane.

The highest levels of formaldehyde were in Baby Magic “Soft Baby Scent” Lotion with two samples of the lotion testing at 570 and 610 parts per million (ppm) of the chemical. The report noted that a formaldehyde level above 500 ppm would require a warning label in Europe.

Samples of “American Girl” shower products, sold by Bath & Body Works, showed the highest levels of 1,4-dioxane found in the test and popular products that were found to contain both chemicals included Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Sesame Street Bubble Bath, Grins & Giggles Milk & Honey Baby Wash and Huggies Naturally Refreshing Cucumber & Green Tea Baby Wash.

Sonya Lunder, MPH, of CSC and the Environmental Working Group said, “Manufacturers could easily remove these toxic byproducts, but they are not required to do so under federal cosmetics safety standards.” The main thing parents can do is use fewer body care products on their children or look for those products with fewer ingredients,” she says. “Labels that say ‘gentle’ or ‘pure’ or even ‘organic’ don’t really tell you much.”

Malkan concluded, "The best advice for consumers is that simple is better, products with fewer ingredients overall."